Friday, May 1, 2015

My April

We have all been so involved in the A to Z Challenge this April that anything else goes by the board. Not been the best month for me. I lost a valuable diamond earring which I had had made from a brooch of my mother’s and couldn’t claim it on insurance because our deductible is too flaming high. Subsequently I took the one remaining to the local jeweller to get him to make me two studs from it. Funny really, I had put an Avon butterfly on it and one of the salespeople thought the stones were not diamonds because of the butterfly. The jeweller himself recognised that they were. They ended up being rather tiny.

One night I decided to have tourtière for supper and, being totally stupid, put the pie in the oven without a support such as a cookie tray. Needless to say, the worst happened and the metal pie dish folded on me dumping a large portion of the pie onto the door and into the oven. There was enough left in the pie dish for us to have one supper but not two. Boy was I mad at myself. Not the easiest thing to clean up either. Waited til the oven cooled and in fact used my hand vac to help get up a lot of the pastry crumbs.

I was thinking about people texting and how so many don't talk to one another even when together; I then remembered a book by Isaac Asimov, probably my most favourite author, which was part of the Foundation series, where the protagonists were searching for earth and their origins. They arrive at one planet where nobody has any contact with anyone else other than by computer. They live in their own dwellings and never leave. They have robots to serve them. Not sure what they did about procreating, probably artificial insemination. But doesn’t that sound like young people today? Families who have to text their children to get them to come to supper and such. Asimov wrote a lot of things which have come true in one form or another today.

During the A to Z I posted a mushroom recipe, Tomato and Olive Stuffed Mushroom Caps. The other day I made it. We both enjoyed it very much but Matt said he wouldn’t want to have it again too soon. I could eat it at least once a week but then I love Portobella mushrooms. Typically, I didn’t think of taking a picture until I had already started chomping down on the mushrooms, I took one anyway. I think I should have cut the tomatoes up smaller, but I thought the whole thing was very good.

This is a very special dessert from BBC Good Food. I haven’t used rosewater in years but I can imagine it being absolutely gorgeous in this dessert.

Pistachio and Rose Water Kulfi

Serves 8

This delicately fragrant frozen Indian dessert combines pistachio nuts and rosewater - the perfect way to cool down after a spicy meal

Ingredients

200g pistachios, plus extra to serve

250g golden caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

600ml whole milk

600ml evaporated milk

4-5 tbsp rosewater

handful cherries, or any berries that are in season, to serve

Method

Pulse the pistachios and sugar in a mixer until fine – be careful not to overmix or the pistachios will become oily. Mix the cornflour with 1 tbsp of the whole milk to make a smooth paste.

Pour the remaining milk and the evaporated milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the pistachio powder, rose water and cornflour paste, and simmer for 5 mins until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon (it will continue to thicken as it cools).

Pour into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film so a skin doesn’t form. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge until cold before churning in your ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have an ice cream machine, transfer to a freezer- proof container, pop in the freezer for 4 hrs or until frozen and stir every hour to break up any ice crystals.

Take out of the freezer 20 mins before slicing or scooping to serve. Sprinkle with crushed pistachios and scatter over the cherries or berries.

I lost a small diamond out of a ring once so I know how you feel. The cartoon is a hoot. I do not have a smartphone and rarely text on the one I have. Had dinner with friends the other night and one of them starting checking her phone. I hate that!

That's a shame about the lost earring. I hope it turns up...maybe it's lost somewhere in the house or fell behind something? Sorry about the pies too. I learned my lesson with quiche to always have a foil line cookie sheet under my pies. But then the stupid cookie sheet will twist in the hot oven, oven spilling the egg over the sides anyway. I still haven't figured out how to make that not happen. Maybe put the sheet in the oven as it heats up then put the quiche on it when I'm ready?

Oh I am sad that you lost the one earring. I have lost something special before and I felt horrible. I have also done something similar to the pie episode. My problem is smoke started pouring out and the smoke alarm went off. My dog got so scared he peed and pooped and the cats scattered...not fun. I immediately thought of the clean up you had to do. The mushrooms look good and this dish i had at a nearby Indian restaurant which was quite goof

Hi Jo,I lost a gold hoop earring studded with diamonds 3 years ago. Thought I'd lost it in the car but we never could find it. I still have the other one 'just in case'. David suggested I sell it as a single earring as many men/women just need one these days ... but I live in hope of reuniting it with its partner.Love the look of the Kulfi. When I lived in Singapore I remember slaving for ages over a pan of reducing milk to make the Kulfi (nearly an hour I think) this seems much quicker.

I thought of selling mine but had it split in two. Bit small now though. Damned nuisance as I had had them so long and wore them every day. Never made a Kulfi but not sure I could be bothered, certainly not these days, to slave like that.

I think it's dreadful, as well. Or when I see two people eating out together and both texting. I dunno. It's just not for me or Tim. We share one flip phone. Though that might change once we get a second car and I start driving again, but even still, flip phone is fine with me.

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About Me

Happily married for 45 years, originally from the UK, living in Canada now. Interested in cooking, reading and wildlife conservation. Read more at http://satimaflavell.blogspot.ca/2009/02/fresh-fields-reading-and-recipes.html